Types of Account-Based Marketing

An organization’s Account Based Marketing efforts can fall into three broad categories. Strategic ABM, also known as one-to-one ABM, comes first, followed by ABM lite, one-to-a-small-number of people, and last, programmatic ABM, or many-to-many. So, this article breaks down the three distinct forms of ABM.

One-to-One Marketing: Strategic ABM

Strategic account-based marketing focuses on lucrative partnerships with existing clients. This strategy aims to increase the likelihood of future product purchases from these clients by upselling and cross-selling to them. Strategic account-based marketing (ABM) entails developing individualized strategies for interacting with a select group of high-value accounts (often between a few and a handful) based on their specific requirements.

The most significant investment is required for this strategy. Therefore understanding client wants, and needs is essential for marketers. When conducting strategic ABM, months, if not years, of targeting is required, and ROI is often measured over a multi-year period by organizations that employ one-to-one marketing.

Developing personas and doing research should yield conversion-optimized articular communications. The ideal B2B startup marketing strategy is one-on-one when a team has a large budget, high-value existing clients, time, tools, and people.

One-to-Few Marketing: ABM Lite

One-to-few marketing, often called account-based marketing lite, focuses on secondary named accounts. A light version of Insight abm does not necessitate as much attention to each customer’s specific requirements. Instead, the marketing and sales departments will zero in on five to ten accounts with similar problems and requirements.

Companies with more leeway in their finances and workforce needs may benefit more from ABM light. These B2B account categories shouldn’t be made without a firm grasp of your ideal customers’ personas, profiles, and segments. Even so, you can still send them personalized messages if you choose.

As an enterprise data provider, TIBCO Software Inc. profited from scale ABM to offer its clients the most pertinent B2B content possible.

One-to-Many: Programmatic ABM

The third level is programmatic ABM, sometimes known as one-to-many marketing. Like one-to-few marketing, account-based marketing software divides accounts into subsets based on common characteristics, such as industry, size, and issues faced by the company. Traditional ABM targets just five to ten key accounts, and programmatic ABM clusters hundreds or even thousands of accounts based on shared characteristics of their most valuable customers.

Successful marketing teams in programmatic ABM frequently employ customer relationship management (CRM) software or a marketing automation solution like Eloqua, Marketo, or Pardot. It allows them to categorize accounts and tailor their communications depending on industry vertical or other broad descriptors.

Programmatic ABM allows small businesses with limited marketing budgets to begin targeting accounts. It still leverages personalization and centers on the client but consumes less of your company’s resources.

Thomson Reuters is a multinational media conglomerate headquartered in Canada. It develops and distributes software and services that help professionals in law, taxation, accounting, international trade, and corporate compliance manage their information more effectively. The business employed programmatic ABM, sending out invitations to 500+ business accounts and offering a free product trial for a limited time. As a result, sales cycles were cut by 72%.

Here’s What to Keep in Mind

The number of accounts you wish to target and the strategic and financial significance of those accounts determine which of the three primary forms of ABM you should use. It is claimed that 96% of businesses see Account Based Marketing (ABM) as the primary factor in boosting B2B sales revenue.